Determination of trace amounts of rare earth elements in highly pure praseodymium oxide by double focusing inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and high-performance liquid chromatography

An analytical method for the determination of traces of rare earth elements (REE) as impurities in highly pure praseodymium oxide ́ (Pr O ) produced at the Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN) and a comparison with commercial praseodymium oxide 6 11 as a certified reference is reported. REE as impurities in praseodymium oxide were separated from the matrix by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The separated individual fractions containing REE trace impurities were analyzed directly by inductively coupled plasma sector field mass spectrometry (HR ICP-MS). The percentage recovery ranged from 85 to 100% for different rare earth elements. The mean RSD of the method varied between 3 and 5% for a set of five replicates for the IPEN material and for the certified reference sample. Both materials were found to be highly pure (.99.9%).  2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.